Victim-survivors with lived experience of gender-based violence are increasingly asking to be involved in developing and reforming public policy, and governments are beginning to engage survivors in co-production efforts.

An example of this engagement of survivors in co-production efforts is the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 (the National Plan). The National Plan commits to working with victim-survivors and recognising the value of lived experience in shaping effective initiatives.

Engaging survivors in the co-production of policies is expected to make policies and services more relevant and improve outcomes. However, research with other service users indicates there can be a gap between the promise of coproduction in theory and what is delivered in practice, particularly when significant power imbalances exist between policy-makers and service users.

The role of survivors in the co-production of policy is under-researched, as are the public value and the risks. This research contributes to addressing those research gaps.